Law Firm SEO Tips
By Peter Boyd on June 22, 2011 in Internet Marketing
Services: Law Firm Website Design . SEO . Internet Marketing . Law Firm Marketing Guide . Content Marketing . PPC
So you were told that your law firm needs SEO. You read a bit and talked to several vendors, but you’re having a hard time comparing apples to apples (or even oranges). Let’s go over 10 important facts:
- Start with Keyword Research. A simple research plan can take less than an hour and set your campaign off on the right foot. A more detailed research plan will prove even more valuable.
- Architecture of your site is important, but not everything. Your site should be built well and include Title Tags, Alt Tags, and keyword rich anchor text. It should meet Google guidelines. But as explained below, links are most important.
- It is all about Links. Google’s algorithm is based on who links to your site (and a lot of analysis on that link and website). Generally speaking, the more links you get, the higher you rank. It is more complicated than that, but it is important to understand the power of links.
- Demand an Exclusive Agreement. A lot of SEO companies will work with your competitors. Request a non-compete clause for anyone that is in your same practice area and geographic area. You should not have to share your SEO team with a competitor.
- Meta Keywords are not important. Most search engines have degraded the Meta keyword tag. You are only giving away competitor information by including it in the code.
- Keyword Stuffing does not work. You only have to mention the keyword three or so times on the page to achieve your results. Stop stuffing your text.
- Improved rankings generally should not take a long time. Starting an SEO campaign should be quick and easy. Research can be done in a day, on-page optimization in a few days, and then link building. Depending on the keyword phrases, you can get results in just a few weeks and often within 90 days.
- But occasionally, top rankings do take longer. At the same time, some websites may take up to six months to obtain a top ranking for competitive areas. It really all depends on the quality of the website, existing links and technical hurdles.
- Anyone can do SEO, but an expert helps. Yes, anyone can do research and on-page coding. But the best SEO teams know where to get the best links and how to make small changes to achieve your goals on budget and on time.
- All SEO plans are not the same. Compare the exact services you receive and the track record of results. Is the team just doing research? On-page optimization? Consulting? Reporting? Analytics? Most importantly, are they link building?
